


Bigs and Littles

by AvannaK



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (2010)
Genre: A collision of Hiccups, Alternate Universe - Book/Movie Fusion, Canon Crossover, Gen, Introspection, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-04-14
Updated: 2011-04-14
Packaged: 2017-11-14 08:52:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/513470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AvannaK/pseuds/AvannaK
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When the pressure of his new position in the village, as well as adjusting to his new leg, becomes a bit much for Hiccup, he decides to take a fly to unwind.  His mind elsewhere, he and Toothless end up on an unfamiliar island.  He also doesn't recognize the little, thieving dragon or the young boy they find there, yet there's something vaguely familiar about both...</p>
<p>A book-meets-movie crossover.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bigs and Littles

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sparks Mclain](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Sparks+Mclain).



> This was written as a request before I read the books. That's why it focuses more from movie!Hiccup's POV.
> 
> I don't own any of the HTTYD characters, book or movie verse.

**Bigs and Littles**

The foggy skies thinned and the smallest, most remote island of the Faroe chain materialized into visibility.

"This looks good, buddy."

Hiccup focused on commanding the muscles of his thigh and knee to bank left in a wide, downward spiral—a task that once fell to his ankle.

The dragon-human pair landed atop the mossy earth with a fluidity Hiccup feared they would never regain after the Nest-Incident.  It helped that they practiced daily, both trying to adapt to the new, less-controlled pulley system of the tailfin.

The boy hopped from the saddle, concentrating the majority of his weight on his right leg to minimize the impact to his left, and looked around.  Perhaps the obscurity of the brume had misdirected him to a new island, because he didn't recall Mykines ever having this much forest available.

Hiccup didn't rightly care if this was Mykines or not.  He didn't care if he ended up in Vinland.  He just needed to get away—get away from people helping him, catching his stumbles, patting his back, knocking him around.  Get away from the cheering and judging and watchful eyes.

With a weary sigh, he sat heavily on an incline of rocks and roots, not caring if he stained his tunic with the moist earth.  He was tired of caring about a lot of things; he was tired of caring how to _keep_ his newfound respect.

His fingers fumbled with the leather straps of his prosthetic, the wound beneath screaming for relief.  Not even a day spent in a saddle seemed to ease the pains of the wound, both phantom and real.

He wasn't prepared for any of it—not the attention nor the status.  Some days Hiccup reveled in it, wholly appreciative of his father's love and his village's respect and his— _maybe?_ —girlfriend.  Then there were some days, such as today, when he preferred to go back to being ignored, because ignored, he could handle.  He missed having so much time for himself, for his inventions and flying and Toothless.  Now, everyone seemed to demand his attention for saddles, or dragons, or just to simply be seen with him.  Sometimes he wondered if they could even see _him_ at all.

The nest incident happened so quickly—he just reacted to the situation, he didn't aim for heroics—that he waited for the day when people realized he was still _Hiccup_. He hadn't changed, after all.  The village simply decided to paint him in a new light.

A light that, sooner or later, would extinguish.

He balanced the prosthetic under his palms, the metal of the contraption feeling hot and heavy and _hated_ against his skin.  He dropped it to the ground, deciding to feel uncaring of one more thing.

To think he once wanted this—once thought a grand battle wound would be worth the love of a village, would be all he needed to be happy.

"The grass is always greener," he mumbled, moving his sights to the bandaged stump.  Gobber said in a few months time he'd be able to expose it to the elements more, but Hiccup had a hard time imagining such an opportunity.  It hurt too much, felt too raw.  The thought of a future with _this_ as a leg disgusted him.  It was still too foreign to him, still an impossibility to accept, even weeks after his loss.

A nose nudged his cheek.  He glanced up to see Toothless staring at him with those wide, intelligent eyes.  The dragon warbled low in his throat; Hiccup could see a very human pity reflected back at him.

Hiccup reached a hand up and gently rubbed a smooth cheek.

"We'll be fine, bud," he promised. "We'll get used to this."

A scraping of metal on rock alerted him to an unaccounted for presence.  Hiccup looked down in time to see a small dragon dragging his prosthetic off.

"Hey!"

The dragon panicked at being spotted, and redoubled its efforts to make off with the leg.  It hardly made any progress before Toothless' mouth clamped around its neck, lifting its writhing body into the air.  Yet, still, it refused to relinquish Hiccup's prosthetic.

With no immediate danger of losing his mobility, Hiccup took the moment to observe the strange creature.  It looked like a terror, green with membranous wings, but the head was too narrow.

Perhaps Mykines harbored some sub-breed of Terrors?

"Toothless!"

The sudden, youthful voice that rang out from behind Hiccup shocked him— _no one_ inhabited Mykines, if this even _were_ said island—but the name called shocked him more.

He swiveled in his seat, greeted with the sight of a young, short boy clambering over a hill of slippery rocks.

"Toothless!" the boy called again upon spotting the two dragons.  He hadn't seemed to register Hiccup's presence yet. "Toothless—what are you—?  Uh, oh..."

The lad appeared lost for a moment, staring between the dragons and Hiccup, and most likely mimicking the exact bewilderment Hiccup felt himself.

Hiccup realized the tiny, thieving dragon must have belonged to the child—a Viking child, going by the oversized helmet capping wild, red hair—and took pity on the boy.

"It's okay," Hiccup assured him in his kindest voice.  He hadn't much experience with comforting children. "He won't hurt it.  Toothless, drop it."

Obediently, Toothless relaxed his jaw, freeing his captive from his gummy hold.  At the same time, the smaller dragon released Hiccup's prosthetic...

...from its own gummy hold.

Toothless moved over the littler dragon and snatched Hiccup's metal leg before the thief could entertain any additional ideas of taking it.

"See?  He's fine—thanks bud." Hiccup accepted the prosthetic and set to re-attaching it to his stump.  He didn't expect to have so short of a reprieve from it, but he hadn't expected company either, and he'd much prefer to have mobility as an option in face of the unexpected.

"How did you know his name?" the younger of the two questioned.  The boy was making an obvious effort not to stare at Hiccup's shortened leg and the teen felt appreciative of this.

"Toothless?" Hiccup asked. "That's his name, that's how I know it.  I gave it to him."

The Night Fury smiled his gummy-smile at the young boy to show his approval of such a name.  Hiccup swore the tiny dragon—who scrambled to perch on the kid's shoulder—stuck his tongue out at the larger reptile.

"Wow!" the boy exclaimed. "That's funny, because that's what I named _my_ dragon.  He has no teeth either."

Unlike Big-Toothless, Little-Toothless did not "smile" for Hiccup.  In fact, Hiccup got the impression the dragon kept its mouth shut simply to be difficult.

"Well, that explains why there aren't any teeth marks in this," Hiccup quipped lightly, gesturing to the metal foot.  The boy winced.

"I'm sorry about that.  He ran off because I haven't fed him yet.  And he rather likes shiny things."

Hiccup grinned, and he gently knocked his fist against the leg. "It's fine.  No harm done.  So what's your name?"

"Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the third," the boy, Hiccup, announced.

Hiccup felt his mouth drop open, certain he misheard.  Then again, how does one mishear their entire nine-syllable name?

Little-Hiccup must have misinterpreted the open disbelief.

"Yeah, I know, it's not a particularly impressive name," the little boy sighed. "But it's meant to ward off gnomes and trolls, and it's done a pretty good job so far.  In fact, it's done a pretty good job for anyone who's had this name.  What's yours?"

Hiccup opened his mouth, unsure if he should even _reveal_ his real name in light of such a bizarre coincidence.  But before he could answer, Little-Toothless scuttled off of Little-Hiccup's shoulder and shot into another direction.

"Augh, Toothless!" Little-Hiccup cried.  He turned back to Big-Hiccup, apologetic.  "Sorry, I have to go!  But it was nice meeting you!  You too, Toothless!"

The Night Fury and his human watched, nonplussed, as the freckled redhead followed his tiny dragon, shouting promises of dragon nip and winkles.

Hiccup turned to Toothless.

"Did that actually happen?"

Toothless smacked his lips together, recalling the taste of Little-Toothless in his mouth.

Yes.  It did.

**Author's Note:**

> The title came from thinking about the sorority my sisters are in, and how they have Bigs and Littles. Hope you enjoyed! There's not enough book-focused fanwork as far as I'm concerned.


End file.
